Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain.
Ecourbe, Association for the Protection of Urban Environment, Seville, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 1;949:175171. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175171. Epub 2024 Jul 31.
Plastic pollution has become a global concern, affecting many species around the world. While well-documented for marine ecosystems, the impact of plastic pollution on terrestrial ecosystems is comparatively limited. In fact, only recently have some studies begun to explore the occurrence, pathways, and impacts of plastic in the atmosphere and on terrestrial species. Here, we assess the presence of synthetic material in nests of three swift species breeding in the Western Palearctic: the common swift (Apus apus), the pallid swift (Apus pallidus), and the alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba). Using data from 487 nests spanning 25 colonies and seven European countries, we show that 36.5 % of the examined nests contained anthropogenic materials, mainly plastic debris. Notably, Pallid swifts' nests, with 85 % of the total nests examined with plastic, rank among birds with the highest plastic content in nests. We also demonstrate that the probability of finding plastic in the nest increased substantially with the human footprint of the landscape. Last, we recorded four cases of swifts entangled in their own nest, a low proportion compared to other species studied previously. Our study provides compelling evidence that plastic pollution may also be considered a concern for other terrestrial species, particularly for birds with highly aerial lifestyles, such as other swifts. The correlation with the human footprint suggests that areas with higher human activity contribute more significantly. Moreover, the entanglement cases, although low, indicate a threat to bird health and welfare. To our knowledge, our study is the first to report a direct interaction between floating plastic debris in the atmosphere and any species. Understanding this interaction is key, not only due to the lack of research on the topic, but also because it highlights that plastic pollution is a multifaceted environmental issue affecting various ecosystem categories, and the broader implications of atmospheric plastic circulation on wildlife and ecosystems health.
塑料污染已成为全球性问题，影响着世界各地的许多物种。尽管海洋生态系统中的塑料污染已得到充分记录，但塑料污染对陆地生态系统的影响相对有限。事实上，直到最近，一些研究才开始探索塑料在大气中和陆地物种中的存在、途径和影响。在这里，我们评估了在繁殖于西古北区的三种雨燕物种（普通雨燕、白喉雨燕和高山雨燕）的巢中合成材料的存在情况。我们使用了来自跨越 25 个殖民地和七个欧洲国家的 487 个巢的数据，表明 36.5%的被检查巢中含有人为材料，主要是塑料碎片。值得注意的是，白喉雨燕的巢中，有 85%的巢中都有塑料，是鸟类中塑料含量最高的。我们还表明，在巢中发现塑料的概率随着景观的人类足迹显著增加。最后，我们记录了四起雨燕被自己的巢缠住的案例，与之前研究的其他物种相比，这个比例较低。我们的研究提供了令人信服的证据，表明塑料污染也可能被视为其他陆地物种的一个问题，特别是对于具有高度空中生活方式的鸟类，如其他雨燕。与人类足迹的相关性表明，人类活动较多的地区贡献更大。此外，尽管案例数量较少，但缠结的案例表明了对鸟类健康和福利的威胁。据我们所知，我们的研究是首次报道大气中漂浮的塑料碎片与任何物种之间的直接相互作用。了解这种相互作用至关重要，不仅是因为这个话题的研究还很少，而且还因为它强调了塑料污染是一个多方面的环境问题，影响着各种生态系统类别，以及大气塑料循环对野生动物和生态系统健康的更广泛影响。
